And the cherubim were lifted up ,.... From the earth; See Gill on Ezekiel 1:19 ; this is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar : a river in Chaldea, where the prophet was when he had the vision of the living creatures recorded in the "first" chapter; and hence it is out of doubt that the living creatures and the cherubim are the same. read more
And when the cherubim went, the wheels went by them ,.... Ministers being guides to the churches in doctrine, worship, devotion, and conversation; See Gill on Ezekiel 1:19 ; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth , the same wheels also turned not from beside them ; ministers and churches go together; if the one remove, the other do also; they cannot long subsist without each other; and, generally speaking, as are the light, knowledge, zeal,... read more
When they stood, these stood ,.... When the one were inactive, lifeless, and without motion, making no progress in knowledge, experience, and practice, the other were so likewise; See Gill on Ezekiel 1:21 ; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also ; like people, like priest, whether in things commendable or not, Hosea 4:9 ; for the spirit of the living creature was in them ; the same spirit that was in the cherubim was in the wheels; and the same... read more
Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house ,.... Whither he had removed from the cherub or the cherubim, between the mercy seat, Ezekiel 10:4 ; taking another step towards a general departure from the temple and city, of which this was another signal and warning: and stood over the cherubim : not on the mercy seat from whence he came, for hither he returned not; but over the cherubim or living creatures seen in the vision, which were under the throne in the... read more
And the cherubim lifted up their wings ,.... As birds do, when they are about to remove and fly away; these being upon the motion, ready to depart, as well as the glory of the Lord: and mounted up from the earth in my sight : the land of Judea, where the Gospel was first preached; but this being slighted and despised, the apostles and first ministers of the Gospel took their flight from thence, and turned to the Gentiles: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them :... read more
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel, by the river of Chebar ,.... This is repeated from Ezekiel 10:15 ; not only for the confirmation of it; but with an addition, to show that the appearance of the man upon the throne, Ezekiel 1:26 , is no other than the God of Israel; and inasmuch as Christ is there meant, for the Father never appeared in a human form, it follows that Christ is the God of Israel, under whose power, protection, and influence, the cherubim,... read more
And I knew that they were the cherubims - This formation of the plural is quite improper. In general, Hebrew nouns of the masculine gender end in ים im , in the plural; the s, therefore, should never be added to such. Cherub is singular; cherubim is plural. The s should be uniformly expunged. I have already referred to the end of this chapter for farther information relative to this glorious chariot of Jehovah; but I must say that I have met with nothing on the subject that entirely... read more
Verse 15 We shall afterwards explain in the proper place why he says the cherubim ascended. The first and principal scope of this vision was that God would no longer dwell in the temple, because he had determined to depart thence on account of the impious and wicked profanations by which the temple had been contaminated. Now for this reason he says, the cherubim ascended; but he adds, that was the living creature, which he had seen near the river Chebar He adds this for clearing up the vision,... read more
Verse 16 The Prophet here confirms what he had said before, namely, that there was no intrinsic motion in the wheels, but that they were drawn by a secret instinct wherever the cherubim moved themselves. Hence we gather that the events of things are not accidental, nor excited in various directions by any blind impulse, but directed by the hidden energy of God, and that too by means of angels. First he says, when the cherubim set out, the wheels set out at the same time: then when the cherubim... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 10:8-22
We have here a further account of the vision of God's glory which Ezekiel saw, here intended to introduce that direful omen of the departure of that glory from them, which would open the door for ruin to break in. I. Ezekiel sees the glory of God shining in the sanctuary, as he had seen it by the river of Chebar, and gives an account of it, that those who had by their wickedness provoked God to depart from them might know what they had lost and might lament after the Lord, groaning out their... read more